The Sydney Swans have named an unchanged side to face the Western Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon at Marvel Stadium.

Following a 92-point victory over West Coast in Round 16, John Longmire is backing the same side for this weekend’s clash against the ladder leaders.

“We know we have a big challenge this week but we need to take the next step which is exciting for us," Longmire said.

“We have gone through a few weeks this year where we have made a number of changes, obviously it was a strong performance last week, we know we have to get better and keep improving all the time because we play the best team of the competition this week, but it’s good to be consistent with selection.

After a 29-point victory over North Melbourne last week, the first placed Bulldogs have named key forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and defender Ed Richards for the clash.

Ugle-Hagan, the number one pick in last year’s draft, will make his debut while Richards returns after ruled out with illness in their clash last week. They replace forward Aaron Naughton (concussion), Toby McLeand and Pat Lipinski.

The match kicks off at 3:20pm AEST at Marvel Stadium and will be broadcast live on 7mate, Fox Footy and Kayo Sports and broadcast on radio via ABC and AFL Nation.

In Round 17, the Swans will celebrate its proud history during Swans Heritage Week. To celebrate the Club’s rich history, the team will wear the famous red-V heritage guernsey, worn by South Melbourne dating back to 1932 and made famous by Bloods Legends including Bob Skilton, Peter Bedford, Bob Pratt, Ron Clegg and J.Herbie Matthews. 

STATS

 Sydney enters this clash sitting sixth on the ladder with 9 wins and 6 losses this season. The side comes off a confidence building 92-point victory over West Coast last week. The side has three wins in the last five weeks.

Similarly, the Western Bulldogs enter this clash with three wins in their last five weeks, with victories over North and West Coast in the last fortnight.

The Bulldogs hold the recent head to head advantage with 3 wins in their last five clashes, with Sydney last claiming victory over the opposition in 2018.

The two sides last met in Round 4 last season, which saw the Dogs win by 28 points.

KEY QUOTES

JOHN LONGMIRE

“The consistency over the four quarters is what impressed me most. Our pressure rating was still really high, even though we had a bit of the ball so those things worked well for us,” Longmire said.

“We have been concentrating how we can go to the next level again this week.

“We want to add to the consistency that we have been after and trying to play the four quarters at a really high level as consistently as we can. It’s something we aim for every week, it’s difficult to achieve, but if we can do that this week it gives us a chance against a really good team.”

JAKE LLOYD

“Don Pyke has been massive. We have changed a lot of our structure offensively, and he is a big reason for that,” Lloyd said.

“We are going into games a lot clearer on what we can do to beat our opposition, and the boys have been implementing that each week and we are certainly looking a lot more dangerous with ball in hand.”

“They are a phenomenal side. We had a look at the yesterday and identified a few key things that they ae doing really well at the moment,” Lloyd said.

“Just the way they move the ball by hand, they get up the ground and work back in numbers well so we really have our work cut out.

WILL HAYWARD

“We are still building definitely. We haven’t played every game with a four quarter consistent effort and to beat a side like the Bulldogs, you need to play four quarters of your best footy,” Hayward said.

“If we can produce that, we will hold ourselves in pretty good stead but it’s about building on some learnings from the game and things we can do to get over the line on the weekend.” 

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A RAMPANT Sydney has thrust itself into an already congested premiership race with an impressive 19-point upset victory over the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium on Sunday afternoon. 

The 11.13 (79) to 8.12 (60) triumph was the Swans' second in succession and 10th for the season and moves them just one win away from a valuable top-four position.

It was the Swans' swift ball movement and precise accuracy by foot that helped them overpower their more fancied opponent, with the Dogs unable to make their 52-47 inside 50 advantage and lopsided 46-26 edge in clearances count as they missed the chance to regain top spot on the ladder.

While Jake Lloyd (33 disposals) and Callum Mills (31) led the way for the winners, the Swans had 22 solid contributors and will be buoyed by the fact that sharp-shooters Lance Franklin and Tom Papley managed just one goal between them.

Instead it was left to Jordan Dawson (three goals) and Will Hayward (two) to fill the void as the Swans issued a legitimate warning to the rest of the competition that they are a force to be reckoned with.

The Dogs badly missed the strong marking of Aaron Naughton up forward and the experience of Stefan Martin in the ruck, with youngster Jamarra Ugle-Hagan held goalless in a debut that he would rather forget.

Reliable defender Caleb Daniel (30 disposals), young midfielder Bailey Smith (27) and Brownlow fancy Marcus Bontempelli (27) all tried hard, while the ever-consistent Jackson Macrae had his lowers coloured as he finished with 25 touches.

Smith gave the Dogs the perfect start with a goal from outside 50m within the opening 18 seconds, but Dawson replied with two majors of his own as the Swans opened up a narrow six-point advantage at the first break.

Franklin - who didn't touch the ball in the opening term - had a goal disallowed on review midway through the second quarter and was being well held by Alex Keath, yet it was the visitors holding sway by 11 points at half-time.

Issac Heeney (17 touches and a goal) snapped a beauty to get the Swans rolling in the third and, when Luke Parker (27 disposals and a goal) pounced on a loose ball to kick truly late in the term, the margin was 20 at the final break.

Swingman Lewis Young kicked truly from a fortuitous free kick early in the final term to give the Dogs hope and they could have drawn even closer had Jason Johannisen done the same moments later on the run from just 30 metres.

But Hayward marked strongly and converted his second goal with ease to help steady the Swans and Franklin added his first late in proceedings to put the icing on a super impressive performance and put the final nail in the Dogs' coffin.

The Amartey Party rolls on

Sydney cult hero Joel Amartey often makes the difficult look simple and his volleyed goal off the ground late in the second term was no different. The usually reliable Taylor Duryea misfired a short kick across defence and Amartey was on hand to volley home a spectacular effort that would have looked more at home during the current European Championships in England. While the goal was superb, the follow up from Amartey's ever-growing cheer squad was just as good as they chanted ole-ole-ole-ole in strong approval of their favourite player.

WESTERN BULLDOGS    3.2       5.5       6.6     8.12 (60)  

SYDNEY                    4.2       7.4       9.8       11.13 (79)  

GOALS  
Western Bulldogs: Bruce, Daniel, Richards, Scott, Smith, Wallis, Young, English
Sydney: Dawson 3, Hayward 2, Amartey, Bell, Florent, Heeney, Parker, Franklin

BEST  
Western Bulldogs: Keath, Daniel, Smith, Bontempelli, Duryea, Dale
Sydney: Mills, Dawson, Rampe, Parker, Lloyd, Heeney

INJURIES  
Western Bulldogs:  Nil
Sydney: Nil  

SUBSTITUTES  
Western Bulldogs: McNeil (unused)  
Sydney: O'Riordan (unused)  

Crowd: 24,817 at Marvel Stadium